Stabbing on campus

Toronto Police found an 18-year-old man bleeding from a stab wound in the parking lot on the northeast corner of Dundas and Victoria streets shortly after midnight on Saturday, Aug. 31.

Police are looking for four suspects in an ongoing investigation.

A map on the Toronto Police website shows the location of robberies and break-ins that have occurred on the Church-Yonge corridor between July and August.

The map shows that there have been a number of street robberies around campus during that time.

Since the beginning of the month several violent incidences have occurred in the area including assaults and robberies: a man was punched and kicked before being robbed near George and Dundas; another was punched after being stripped of his cash at Yonge and College, and an 18-year-old man was peppersprayed in an attempted robbery at Yonge and Dundas West; the list goes on.

Some hit closer to home. On July 24, a Ryerson student was found on campus with multiple stab wounds to the back and torso.

The university and its neighbourhood are served by police at 51 Division, which covers the area between Yonge Street and the Don Valley Parkway south of Bloor. The division has the second largest number of dispatched calls in the city.

In 2011, 1,440 incidents of non-sexual assaults reported in 51 Division, with charges laid in 786 of those cases.

The latest Statistics Canada report shows overall crime rates in Canada have been on a downward trend since peaking in the early 1990s, with year-by-year decreases in the incidence of violent crime. Toronto has topped the list with the lowest crime rate for the sixth year in a row.

Const. Wendy Drummond, a police spokesperson, assures students and faculty that recent incidents do not suggest an increased risk and police are working closely with Ryerson security to ensure safety on campus. Drummond’s suggests travelling in groups, especially at night; if something feels wrong, go to a populated place or call someone to tell them where you are.